Five things we learned from Camp Practice

Giants.com's Dan Salomone takes a look at five things we learned at practice on August 8th

1) Following is a look back at Jayron Hosley’s draft profile from last year: “He is undersized but plays with tenacity and a sense of urgency when around the ball. Hosley is an extremely scrappy player who finds a way to make an impact.” Hosley may have hit some bumps as a rookie in 2012, but coaches always praised his scrappiness. He showed it on Thursday with another interception in which the 5-foot-10, 178-pound cornerback wrestled the ball away from the 6-foot-1, 200-pound wide receiver Keith Carlos.

2) The Giants spent the early portions of Thursday’s practice working off the cards in preparation for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It slowed the speed down a little as everyone just wanted to come away from the day as healthy as possible. It also meant a heavy focus on the run game on both sides of the ball. The Giants continue to tinker with different combinations on the defensive line, and Cullen Jenkins was again playing defensive end in place of Justin Tuck, who missed his second straight practice. Read more about Tuck’s status here.

3) We listed safety Ryan Mundy as a player to watch before the start of training camp, and after 11 practices, Tom Coughlin had this to say: “Ryan Mundy has done a nice job. He’s an outstanding special teamer, but he’s also learned the secondary. I’ve been pleased with the way he’s worked.” That kind of sums up his career in Pittsburgh, where he will return on Saturday night when the Giants take on the Steelers in the first preseason game. Mundy, playing behind Pro-Bowl safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark, spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Steelers before signing with the Giants this offseason.

4) The practice report wouldn’t feel complete if I didn’t bring up special teams. After all, it does dominate the first half of practice every day. Anyway, there is a backup plan for everything, and long snapper duty is no different. Linebacker Mark Herzlich took a few reps in place of Zak DeOssie in punt formations, but sent a few over the head of Steve Weatherford. If you don’t think it’s important, just read this article from 2011.

5) General manager Jerry Reese, echoing the words of executive scout Jeremiah Davis, referred to Louis Murphy as a “knife” that can take the top off defenses when he signed the wide receiver this offseason. While Murphy has been somewhat quiet in camp, he made some noise on Thursday before the team travels to Pittsburgh. On the first play after the Giants moved indoors in the middle of practice due to rain, Murphy broke free for a deep completion from Eli Manning.